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Award has boosted my confidence: Anthikkad

Sathyan Anthikkad

Sathyan Anthikkad was having his breakfast in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday when he received a call on his mobile from Mohiniyattom artiste Neena Prasad.

“”When she told me that I had won the State film award for the best screenplay (Vinodayathra), I was shocked,” Sathyan told The Hindu on Thursday. “I haven’t recovered from the shock yet. And I have to dedicate this award to Sreenivasan, Raghunath Paleri, Lohithadas and Ranjan Pramod, all of whom I had requested to write a script for me; when none of them agreed, I decided to write it myself.”

It is, of course, the kind of reaction one expects from a man with such a fine sense of humour. In a more serious vein, he says he was pleased to get the award. “It is such an honour really; I never considered myself as a writer and it is very humbling to think that I got the award when established writers like Sreenivasan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Lohithadas and K.P. Kumaran were in the fray,” he says.

He admits the award has done a world of good to his confidence. “I had worked hard on the script of Vinodayathra and even had to postpone the shooting of the film because I wasn’t entirely happy with what I first wrote.”

Sathyan reveals that he had a book of Padmarajan’s scripts while he was writing Vinodayathra. “I would often go back to his screenplays to see how he constructed each scene. Reading his scripts was also a refreshing experience and a relief to the monotony of writing. “Padmarajan’s Namukku Parkkan Munthirithopukal is his favourite script in Malayalam. “I also like MT’s Parinayam, which is different from all his other works. Among the films I directed Raghunath Paleri’s Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu,’ Sreenivasan’s Sandesham and Lohithadas’ Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal are my favourites.” Sathyan feels the award could not have come at a better time, as the latest film he has written and directed, Innathe Chinthavishayam opens in cinemas on Friday. He chuckles, “Besides the best script-writer, the film also features a few other award winners — actors Mohanlal and Meera Jasmine; and singers Shwetha and Vijay Yesudas.”

P.K. Ajith Kumar

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